Reel for feeding coil stock



April 13, 1954 c w REEL FOR FEEDING COIL STOCK 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 6, 1951 April 13, 1954 c. M. WIIG 2,675,190

REEL FOR FEEDING COIL STOCK Filed Sept. 6, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 BRA/r5 o/v ,-emqks OFF aura/l our Clam/l 11v April 13, 1954 c. M. wuc; 2,675,190

REEL FOR FEEDING COIL STOCK Filed Sept. 6, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ll llfllllllllllllh ,1 a l g April 13, 1954 c wn 2,675,190

REEL FOR FEEDING COIL STOCK Filed Sept. 6, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 NORMANLLV IVOKMANLLV CL 0.551: opsu SW1 rc H Sk/IYCH Patented Apr.- 13, 1954 REEL FOR FEEDING COILSTOCK Chester M. Wiig, Chicago, 111., assignor to F. J.

Littell Machine Company,

poration of Illinois Chicago, Ill., a cor- Application September 6, 1951, Serial No. 245,278 Claims. (01.242-75) to spindle reels for feedstrip material to a punch press or the likeysaid material being mounted on the reel in the form of a coil. The invention has reference more particularly to novel structure for controlling rotation of the coil to pay out strip material in accordance with. variations in the tension of said payed out material.

It has been customary in the construction of spindle reels to provide an electric switch for controlling the operation of the motor that drives the reel in a paying out direction. The switch is actuated by an arm having contact with the outermost loop of the strip material leaving the coil and as the loop varies in size, the switch is correspondingly actuated to continue rotation of the coil or to stop rotation. The driving of the coil is stopped when the loop exceeds a predetermined size and when the excess material unwound from the coil is used up the drive to the coil is resumed. In machines of this character the electric switch and motor are subjected to excessive wear since the action of the loop results in constant actuation of the switch between on and off positions and continuous starting and stopping of the motor.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide improved clutch structure in combination with the driving motor of a spindle reel whereby the motor may have continuous operation with actuation of the clutch taking place in response to the tension of the outermost loop to control rotation of the coil.

further object of the invention is to provide improved drive mechanism for a spindle type reel such as disclosed in the Littell Patent No. 2,270,064, said mechanism being characterized by clutch structure and braking means, both of the electromagnetic type, and by respective switch mechanism for controlling said clutch and brake in response to variations in the size of the outermost loop of the coil of strip material being unwound from the reel.

Another object is to provide a spindle reel as described with novel arm and linkage mechanism for contacting the outermost loop unwinding from the coil and which arm is maintained in contact with said loop by yielding means in the form of a pressure cylinder.

A further object is to provide electromagnetic clutch and brake mechanism in the power drive to a spindle reel with respective switch means therefor and a pressure energized movable arm The invention relates ing metal in contact with the outermost loop of material unwinding from the coil to elfect actuation of 2 the switch means and energization of the clutch and brake in response to variations in the tension on the material as indicated by variations in the size of the loop andcorresponding movement of the arm.

With these and various other objectsin view, the invention may consist of certain novel features of construction and operation as will be more fully described'and particularly pointed out in the specification, drawings and claims appended thereto.

In the drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and wherein like reference characters areused to'designate like parts- Figure 1 is a side elevational view of aspindle reel equipped with theimproveddriveand pressure energized control arm comprising the improved features of the invention;

Figure -2 is afrontelevational'view of the reel of Figure l 'showing the control arm in various operative positions;

Figure Bis a fragmentary front elevational view illustrating the operative positions of the control arm for'engaging and disengaging the electromagnetic clutch means;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view similar to Figure Sand illustrating other positions of the control arm;

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the electromagnetic clutchmeans interposed in the drive from the motor to the reel;

Figure 6 is a fragmentarysectional view of the electromagnetic braking means;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the cam elements and switch means actuated thereby;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the cam elements and switch means as shown in Figure '7; and

Figure 9 is a diagram schematically illustrating the electrical connections for the electromagnetic clutch and the electromagnetic brake.

Referring to the drawings, Figures 1 and 2 in particular, the spindle reel selected for illustrating the invention includes a base It having side members H and I2 and end members l3 and I4 upstanding therefrom to provide a frame and a platform on which is suitably supported the gear housing E5 of the present reel. The electric motor It for driving the reel is supported within the frame by the base I! pivoted at l8 and wherein provision is made for adjusting the vertical positioning of the base and thus the motor by means of the threade'dbolt 20. Theadjustment assures tension beingmaintained at all times on the pulley belts 2! which operatively connect the pulley 22 fixed to the shaft of the electric motor with the pulley 23, Figure 5, mounted on the auxiliary shaft 24 suitably journalled at its respective ends in the gear housing It. A worm pinion 25 is fixed to said shaft 24 and th .s the pinion is driven by the electric motor when said shaft is operatively connected by the clutch means of Figure 5 to the electric motor.

The gear housing [5 provides an additional enclosure indicated by numeral 26, Figure 2, for housing the pulley 23 and the electromagnetic clutch structure 2! associated therewith. The gear housing i5 also journals the main shaft 28 of the reel which is suitably mounted by ball bearing assemblies at each end of the gear housing. A portion of shaft 28 projects beyond the left end of the housing to provide a forwardly extending shaft portion for supporting the structure of the reel. Referring to Figure 6, the right hand end of n shaft 23 is journalled by means of the roller bearing assembly 29. The assembly closes this end of the gear housing l5 and it Will be oberved that the electromagnetic brake 30 is fixed to this end of the housing and has associated relation with a portion of the main shaft projecting beyond the roller bearing assembly.

The forwardly extending portion of the main shaft 23 supports a four-armed spider 3! which is held centrally of the forwardly extending portion in contact with a shoulder by the threaded .ring 32. A roller bracket 33 is mounted on each arm of the spider 3| and a reel arm 34 is suitably secured to each roller bracket by means of pins 35. Each reel arm is supported at respective ends by toggle members 36 and 31 respectively. A two-part sleeve including a forward part 38 and a rear part 39 is mounted on the forwardly extending portion of the main shaft on respective sides of the spider 3|. The forward toggle members 33 are pivotally secured to the forward part 33 of the sleeve, whereas, the rear toggle members 3'! are pivotally secured to the rear part 39 of the sleeve. The reel structure described is adapted to support a coil of metal strip material such as indicated by numeral 40 and shown in dotted lines. The coil of metal strip material is guided at its respective ends by retaining arms 4! Which have releasable engagement with the reel arms and are therefore removable when the reel arms are collapsed for the mounting thereon of a new coil of material. A spindle reel of the type as herein disclosed having a spider and a two-part sleeve for supporting and actuating the reel arms is fully described and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 235,160, filed July 5, 1951 and entitled Spindle Reel With Toggle Arms.

The means for effecting actuation of the sleeve longitudinally of shaft 28 so as to cause expanding and collapsing movement of the reel arms includes an actuating shaft 42 which extends longitudinally through a center bore 43 provided for the purpose in the main shaft 28. At its left hand end the actuating shaft 42 is threaded as at 44 and said threaded end has threaded engagement with the nose 45 suitably secured to the forward end of part '38 of the two-part sleeve. The right hand end of the actuating shaft 42 is journalled by the ball bearing assemblies 46 supported by the cap member 41. The hand wheel .8 is fixed to the projecting end of the actuating shaft 42 and by means of the collapsible handle 39 the actuating shaft 42 can be rotated. It will ,be understood that rotation of the shaft in one 4 direction will efiect forward movement of nose 45 and corresponding movement of the sleeve on shaft 28. This effects collapsing movement of the toggles 33 and 31 and collapsing of the reel arms. Rotation of the hand Wheel 48 and thus shaft 42 in a reverse direction will effect rearward movement of nose 45 and the sleeve, whereupon the toggles are extended to expand the reel arms.

The drive to the reel includes the electric motor IS, the electromagnetic clutch 21 interposed between the motor and shaft 24, and the meshing worm pinion 25 and worm gear 53. The worm gear 50 is suitably fixed to the main shaft 23 so that the shaft is rotated from shaft 24, the rotation of which is controlled by the electromagnetic clutch 21. The clutch has been interposed in the drive to the reel in order to relieve the excessive wear on the motor due to constant starting and stopping of the same and to also reduce the high current demand of alternating current motors caused by such intermittent operation.

Referring more particularly to Figure 5, it will be understood that the pulley 23 has constant rotation during operation of the reel since it is riven by the electric motor [6 through the pulleys 2i. Said pulley 23 is suitably secured by screws 52 to the collar 53 mounted for rotation on sleeve 54, there being interposed between the parts the ball bearing assemblies 55. The sleeve 54 is fixed to shaft 24, being suitably keyed to said shaft and is held in fixed position on the same by bolt 56. Current for the electromagnetic clutch is suitably supplied to the stationary terminals 51 and 53 which have contact with the collector rings 59 and 60 embedded in the insulation ring 61 suitably fixed to the periphery of the collar 53. From the collector rings the current is conducted to the electromagnetic coil 62 located within the metal part 63 of the electromagnetic clutch and which part is secured to the collar 53 by ring 34. The other part of the clutch consists of the clutch face 65 which is secured to the carrying disc 65. The carrying disc is supported by pins 61 in a manner to provide for movement of the disc in an axial direction, that is, a direction parallel to the axis of shaft 24. A plurality of said pins 6'! are employed and the pins are in turn secured to the face flange 63 having a welded connection to sleeve 54.

During operation of the reel the pulley 23, collar 53 and part 33 of the electromagnetic clutch have continuous rotation. The several parts are secured to each other so that they rotate as a unit on the sleeve 54. The terminals 5'! and 53 and the collector rings 59 and 60 provide for electrical energization of the part 63 by the application of a magnetizing current to coil 32. When said coil is thus energized the part 63 is magnetized and the clutch face 65 is attracted to the same. As a result the clutch becomes a single unit and the drive from pulley 23 is transmitted to sleeve 54 and to shaft 24 keyed thereto. As

previously explained, rotation of shaft 24 is transmitted through the pinion and worm gears to the main shaft 28 of the reel so that the reel and coil of strip material is correspondingly rotated. When it is desired to discontinue rotation of the reel the part 63 of the clutch is deenergized by opening the electric switch to coil 32. When this takes place the part 63 is no longer magnetized and the clutch face 65 is not attracted thereto. Accordingly, the clutch face 35, sleeve 54, and shaft 24 will remain stationary notwithstanding continued rotation of the pulley 23, collar 53 and" the part 83 I of: the electromagnetic clutch.

The inventionzalsoprovides means for braking rotationof theereel which is necessary in those instances whererotation of thereel functions to materially increase the size of the outermostloop unwinding from the coil of-strip material. The brake is applied to the main shaft 28 at the right hand'end thereof and is best shown in Figure 6. The stationary part of the electromagnetic clutch generally indicated by numeral 30 is secured to the plate member H through the instrumentality of ring 12. The hub ll is iin turn secured to the gear housing by means of the securing bolts 13. The stationary part 18 of the "brake is provided with the electromagnetic coil 74, which when energized functions to magnetize the part 10. The face plate 15 of the rotating part of the brake is disposed in facing contact with part 70. Through the instrumentality of the disc 16 the face plate is fixedlysecured to sleeve 11 which in turn is mounted on and keyed to the main shaft 28. The parts '10 and Hot the braking means are similar in construction and in mode of operation to the parts 63 and 65 of the clutch. Accordingly, when the electromagnetic coil H- of the brake is energized and part 18 is magnetized it attracts the face plate 15, materially increasing the friction between the parts and sufiiciently so to stop rotation of the operating shaft28 and thus the reel and the coil of metal strip. material supported thereby. However, the braking means as regards the present reel is energized only after the clutch has been deenergized to disconnect the reel from its drive. Therefore, the brake is never applied when the reel is being positively driven through the clutch by the electric motor l6.

It is customary in spindle reels of this character to provide a tension responsive arm having contact with the outermost loop of strip material unwinding from the coil and which has oscillating movement in response to the size of the "#013 and. which in turn varies as the tension on the strip material varies. the invention such a tension responsive arm is pressure energized to yieldingly maintain the arm in contact with the outermost loop of material and whereby movement of the arm is employed to actuate'switch means for controlling opera tion of the electromagnetic clutch and brake.

Thetension responsive arm indicated by numeral 80 is best shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4. A roller BI is journalled by the arm. at its free outer end, said roller consisting of a cylinder containing a pair of ball bearing assemblies 82 and which are mounted on the stationary shaft 53 fixed to and projecting laterally of the arm 80 at its upper end. Adjacent the opposite end of the arm, the same is pivotally connected as at 84 to the pressure arm 85. Said pressure arm at its opposite end is bifurcated, forming the hub portions 86, which are secured to the pivot shaft 81. Said shaft'll'l is journalled for rotation by the spaced brackets 88 provided by and forming part of the extension 89 of the gear housing 15. The pressure cylinder 90 is pivotally supported at 9| fromthe extension 89 and said cylinder provides the piston rod 92 which is pivotally connected at 93 to the pressure arm 85. Compressed air or other pressure fluid is admitted to andexhausted from cylinder 90 by means of conduit 84. The tension responsive arm 80..-is provided with an extension.--=95, .and at Bathe extensionis pivotally connected" to the -linkxfll In accordance with which is in-turn anchored at 98 to. the gear housing l5.

The linkage including thetension responsive arm 80, the pressure arm 85, and the link 91, has a leverage ratio whereby movement of piston rod 92 is materially increased at the roller 8|. As a result the roller may move several inches in a substantially verticaldirection with movement of the piston rod 92 being limited to less than one inch, and likewise it will be seen that the pivot shaft 81 carries a pairof cam members I00 and IM which are fixed to the shaft in desired adjusted positions for actuating the microswitches I02 and I03, respectively. The electric switches respectively .in turn have electrical con nection with the clutch and brake.

Figure 9 schematically illustrates the electrical connections for the electromagnetic clutch 21 and the electromagnetic brake 36 wherein it will be observed that the power lines L1 and L2 have direct connection with the electric motor l6, there being interposed in conductor L1 a master control switch indicated by the letter S. Conductors I96 and H31 lead from the power lines L1 and L2 to connect with the clutch and brake. The stationary terminals 57 and 58 or the electromagnetic clutch 2.! are suitably connected in series relation by means of conductors I08 and I99 with the terminals of the normally closed switch lil2. In a similar manner the electromagnetic brake is electrically connected to the terminals of the normally open switch 23 by conductors HI] and II I.

When the pressure fluid to the cylinder 90 is turned. off, the said fluid will gradually escape from the cylinder, allowing the piston arm E55 and the tension responsive arm 89 to move down and eventually a substantially horizontal position for these arms is reached, as shown in full lines in Figure 4. When the arms are thus located the main power supply to the motor i5 is terminated, the-same being accomplished by a master switch actuated simultaneously with the actuation of the valve controlling the pressure fluid to cylinder 91). The said control mechanism, which is not shown in detail, is suitably located within box Hi5, see Fig. 2, supported by the frame of the reel. With the arms in their lowermost position it is relatively easy to place the outer loop of strip material over the roller 8 l. After the material has been threaded through a' straightening machine, whereby it is engaged by the pinch rollers thereof, the mechanism is ready for operation. The operator turns on the fluid pressure to cylinder 9d and immediately the pressure arm and the tension responsive arm 80 are elevated. Simultaneously therewith the master control switch is closed, supplying power to motor 16 so that the motor drives the pulley .23 and clutch structure associated therewith.

The electromagnetic clutch 21 is normally energized and in order to deenergize the same the microswitch H12 must be actuated. This operation is performed by the cam 1G5 fixed in proper adjusted position on shaft 8'! and which shaft is rotated by movement of the pressure arm In Figure 3 the dotted line position of the parts illustrates the clutch-in position, whereas the full lines indicate the clutch-out position. With the clutch operative it will be understood that the coil 62 is energized, attracting the clutch face 65 and completing the drive from the motor to the reel. Rotation of the reel pays out the strip ma. teriali'irom the coil eiidunless the material being positively fed by the straightening machine at or about the same rate, the loop passing over roller 8| will increase or decrease in size. Should a decrease in the loop take place the linkage will move downwardly so that rotation of the coil continues and the strip material payed out is supplied at such a rate as to eventually produce an increase in the size of the loop. As the linkage moves upwardly to elevate roller Bl a position is eventually reached, at which point the clutch is deenergized. When this operation takes place rotation of the coil is discontinued.

During normal operation the linkage will vary between clutch-in and cluth-out positions, it being understood that a slight overrun as regards either position is considered normal. However, if for some reason the outermost loop should continue to increase in size after the clutch has been deenergized, a position will be reached wherein the brake so is energized to positively stop rotation of the reel. The cam Hli is, fixed to shaft 81 in the proper position to cause actuation of the microswitch I03 when the tension responsive arm 80 has been elevated to almost a maximum position such as shown in full lines in Figure 2. The loop will eventually decrease in size and its action is such as to depress the linkage until a point is reached which allows the microswitch I33 to return to normal, thereby deenergizing the brake. This is the brake-off position as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2.

In accordance with the invention a free area or range exists between the clutch-out position and brake-on position and it will be further understood that the linkage has a considerable degree of movement between clutch-in and clutch-out positions. Accordingly, some degree of overrun is provided for as regards the respective positions and which is necessary in a practical reel of this type due to the enormous weight of the coil of metal stock.

The invention is not to be limited to or by details of construction of the particular embodiment thereof illustrated by the drawings as various other forms of the device will of course be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is: 1

1. In a spindle reel of the type including a support, a main shaft journalled by the support and providing a reel supporting portion, a reel mounted on said portion of the shaft for rotation and being adapted to support a coil of strip material, and an electric motor for driving said shaft and thus the reel, the improvement which resides in an electromagnetic clutch interposed in the drive to the shaft whereby rotation of the reel can be controlled through energization and deenergization of the clutch, a tension responsive having a roller at its outer end for contact with the strip material unwinding from the coil, pressure means yieldingly maintaining the roller in contact with said strip material and whereby said tension responsive arm is oscillated as the tension on the strip material varies, and switch means actuated by the tension responsive arm for controlling energization and deenergization of the clutch.

2. A spindle reel as defined by claim 1, additionally including an electromagnetic brake for braking the rotation of the shaft and thus the reel, and other switch means actuated by the tension responsive arm for controlling energization and deenergization of the brake.

3. A spindle reel as defined by claim 1, wherein the tension responsive arm is supported by the support and is disposed above the reel so that the roller oscillates substantially vertically and so that the strip material passes over the roller to form the outermost loop unwinding from the coil, and additionally including an electromagnetic brake for braking the rotation of the shaft and thus the reel, and switch means actuated by the tension responsive arm for controlling energization and deenergization of the brake.

4. In a spindle reel, in combination, a supporting standard, a main shaft journalled thereby and having a forwardly extending portion, a reel carried by the forwardly extending portion and adapted. to mount a coil of metal strip material for rotation, an auxiliary shaft journalled by the standard and having a geared connection to said main shaft, a pulley mounted on the auxiliary shaft for rotation, an electric motor for rotating said pulley, an electromagnetic clutch interposed between the pulley and said auxiliary shaft whereby the reel and thus the coil is rotated when the clutch is energized, a pressure arm pivotally supported by the standard at a point above the coil, a pressure cylinder operatively connected to the pressure arm for yieldingly holding the arm in a raised position when a pressure fluid is supplied to the cylinder, a tension responsive arm pivotally connected at a point intermediate its ends to the pressure arm, a link connecting one end of the tension responsive arm to the standard, a roller carried by the other end of the tension responsive arm and adapted to contact the outermost loop of strip material unwinding from the coil, and switch means actuated by movement of the pressure arm for controlling the energization and deenergization of the clutch.

5. In a spindle reel, in combination, a supporting standard, a main shaft journalled thereby and having a forwardly extending portion, a reel carried by the forwardly extending portion and adapted to mount a coil of metal strip material for rotation, an auxiliary shaft journalled by the standard and having a geared connection to saidmain shaft, a pulley mounted on the auxiliary shaft for rotation, an electric motor for rotating said pulley, an electromagnetic clutch interposed between the pulley and said auxiliary shaft whereby the reel and thus the coil is rotated when the clutch is energized, linkage pivotally supported by the standard and disposed above the coil, said linkage including a tension responsive arm carrying a roller adapted to contact the outermost loop of material unwinding from the coil, pressure means for extending the'linkage to force the roller into contact with the strip material, two switch means adapted to be actuated by movement of the tension responsive arm, one of said switch means controlling the energization and deenergization of the clutch, an electromagnetic brake in associated relation with the main shaft, and the other of said switch means controlling the energization and. deenergization of the brake.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,988,28 Raiche Jan. 15, 1935 2,058,329 Littell Oct. 20, 1936 2,097,142 Borton Oct. 26, 1937 2,317,290 McIlvrled Apr. 20, 1943 2,326,079 Tyrrell' Aug. 3 1943 

